ipl-logo

By The Waters Of Babylon Literary Analysis

1312 Words6 Pages

Launching into a perilous pursuit of enlightenment, By the Waters of Babylon explores the profound implications of forbidden knowledge. In a post-apocalyptic world shrouded in enigma and taboo, Stephen Vincent Benet presents us with John, a young priest whose unyielding curiosity propels him to uncover the truths hidden beyond his tribe's societal confines. This essay will delve into the intricate relationship between the insatiable desire for comprehension and the severe consequences that accompany its acquisition. Benet's narrative is more than a tale of personal growth; it is a metaphor for the collective human journey, questioning the core of our pursuit of knowledge amidst uncertainty. "By the Waters of Babylon" is set in a future post-apocalyptic …show more content…

The laws are strict: no one is to cross the river to enter the hollowed ground, for it is said to be inhabited by spirits and demons. This place holds the remnants of a lost civilization, and the law forbids people from seeking the knowledge of the "old ones," except for the priests, who can collect metal from the Dead Places. John's father, a priest, has some knowledge of the old times, but he is bound by the laws surrounding the Place of the Gods in mystery. John's journey to the Place of the Gods mirrors humanity's eternal struggle between the desire to know and the laws that maintain order. As he traverses the remnants of a lost civilization, we are forced to question whether specific knowledge is too sacred, dangerous, or profound for humanity to comprehend. Bennet's narrative compels us to consider the cost of wisdom and its transformative potential for John and his entire society. John's character in 'By the Waters of Babylon' symbolizes curiosity and determination, embodying the unquenchable thirst for knowledge that defines the human spirit. Despite the strict taboos of his society, John's innate desire to uncover the mysteries of the Place of the Gods propels him on a quest that is both forbidden and

Show More
Related
222 Words | 1 Pages

The tone set in the story “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet is ominous. On page one paragraph one, Benet uses the word forbidden six times to describe the laws set in John’s society. This indicates to the reader something bad will come into play as John travels throughout his journey. Another word Benet refers to throughout the story is “Dead Places;” the words “forbidden,” “dead places,” and “spirit” help the reader understand what the author is establishing from the tone he is setting. In the first paragraph, on page one, the author is stating and explaining the laws that are “forbidden” in John’s society where “he who touches the metal must be a priest or the son of a priest.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

John’s journey shows that the people of the village and the priests have knowledge, but do not have the truth. Examples of this is that the people did not know the gods

Read More
522 Words | 3 Pages

John’s mother participated in promiscuous behavior like those of the World State, this left him isolated from the savages and he was not allowed to participate in their rituals. This alienation made him want to explore a new world (p.91). When he was given the opportunity to go to the World State, he took it in hopes of being accepted. He was popular upon his arrival to the World State, but that quickly changed after his realization that his views were completely different than of those who inhabited this new world. John’s discovery of soma contributes to this realization.

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

“Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If you eat too much truth, you may die of the truth.” - By the Waters of Babylon. In the story “By the Waters of Babylon,” the characters are John, John’s father, The Priest, and humans that are portrayed as Gods in the story. The main character in the story is John, he is defiant and ignorant and he develops throughout the story.

Read More
240 Words | 1 Pages

The story "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benet would be very different if it was in omniscient point of view. First, the story has John say “when I came to the Place of the Gods, I was afraid, afraid.” This would be different in an omniscient point of view because the readers would know that the gods are just people and that John has no reason to be afraid. Second, John says about the food they find in the dead places that “often, that food is death.” This would be different in omniscient point of view because the readers would know which food was preserved correctly and safe for John to eat.

Read More
668 Words | 3 Pages

This vision would become his quest and would be his passage into priesthood. Later, John was traveling the Dead Places pursuing his dream he began to learn new things. He arrived in the Place of the Gods which was forbidden to all. John said, “It is not true what some of our priests say, that it is an island covered with fogs and enchantments,” this is referring to the knowledge that old priests passed down to him and the other people in his society (Benét 175). John learned the land was not covered in fog, there were no howling spirits, and not all of the towers were

Read More
307 Words | 2 Pages

It’s easy for things to be forgotten especially if their broke or you never knew the full meaning of them. A short story written by Benet, “by the waters of Babylon” and the poem written by Percy Shelley, ”Ozymandias” share a similar theme. In both of these pieces present parallel stories that revolve around things that have been broken or forgotten. Even though the readings have a similar theme, they aren’t exactly alike.

Read More
872 Words | 4 Pages

Everyone in John’s tribe was curious about what was in the Place of Gods but never had the motivation to actually seek what was behind the walls. John’s curiosity was greater than everyone else’s in

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

In the story, the Place of the Gods is referred to as a forbidden place, an area

Read More
1330 Words | 6 Pages

How far would you go to reconcile abhorrent actions in your past to create a better future for yourself? In “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Charlie Wales, has to win back the trust of his former sister and brother-in-law to regain custody of his daughter. A man of once great wealth and circumstance, married to the love of his life and the father of a young daughter, Charlie was on top of the world. Following a stock market crash, presumably during the fallout from Black Tuesday which triggered the Great Depression, Charlie’s family life quickly began to fall apart. “Babylon Revisited” gives us Charlie’s first person view of how he planned and tried to put his rocky past behind him, mend ties with his family, and create a brighter outlook for his daughter and himself.

Read More
1914 Words | 8 Pages

In “Babylon Revisited,” a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the audience can clearly discern Charlie Wales’s thoughts and actions, for the third-person limited perspective they are allowed is focused on him. This, however, forces the reader to infer what the other characters are thinking and why they act in certain ways based on the context of the story. Throughout the text, Charlie Wales intends to prove he has fully recovered from his past mistakes, in hopes that Marion will feel the same way and in turn give him his child. He attempts to gain trust from the audience by establishing that he is no longer an alcoholic and does not participate in the reckless activities that he previously did. He believes this qualifies him to take care of

Read More
541 Words | 3 Pages

Contrary, it translated to the realization of knowledge that was beneficial to them. What this relates to the answer above is that knowledge was disclosed to the hill people out of their priest’s to be intention of breaking the societal norms to discover what lied on the east side where upon breaking the norms, knowledge was disclosed to them concerning who their ‘gods’ were and how they lived their lives to their

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

John is given the knowledge about the gods from the priests. This is all that he knows because during this time priests were considered to be the wisest people in the village so everyone listened to them. Except, John has a burning passion to find knowledge on his own he states, “My knowledge made me happy—it was like a fire in my heart” (Benet 312). Here is John’s amazing journey to “The Great Dead place” to feed his burning passion for knowledge.

Read More
335 Words | 2 Pages

Israel was the land of God’s chosen people, the Israelites. Unfortunately, Israel split into two separate countries, North Israel and Judah. The people of Judah slowly turned away from the Lord. The rulers became wicked and sin ran rampant. The nation lost favor with God as a result and was swiftly taken over by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.

Read More
1389 Words | 6 Pages

To what extent does self-preservation address the practical issues and necessary changes in society? After times of war and horror, self-preservation is one of the natural laws that states in order to survive, man must first seek peace and relief. Such themes appear in “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Benét, who wrote his story in a post-apocalyptic society where the society controls the idea of ‘providing’ relief and control, that is, self-preservation by bounding its peoples with superstitions and laws , so that are anyone hardly made aware of the devastating past of the ‘Great Burning’. “These things are forbidden—they have been forbidden since the beginning of time.” (Benét 416)

Read More

More about By The Waters Of Babylon Literary Analysis

Open Document